The Colors of Truth

Chapter 2

I have no idea what I look like in my dress, but when I look down at myself, I look like a different person. My curls have dried into dark coils and hang over my shoulders, I must wear my old brown clogs since they are my only shoes, but I don't mind. Scarlett was right about the dress complimenting my olive skin. The light blue is perfect with my dark curls.

At about eight-thirty we all are called to the cafeteria to eat, all the females are bustling with anticipation and excitement when I walk in. I feel some eyes on me as I walk to my usual table. I can barely eat my food, I have lost my appetite. If I don't have any filter attempts then I have no say in what boy will choose me. I've often contemplated how many filter attempts I will get. Some of my friends say it depends on how pretty you are, others say it is intelligence. I force myself to take small bites of the porridge, I am careful to put my face right over my plate, so I spill nothing on my dress.

Before I know it, breakfast is over and it is time to walk to the Great Hall. We only gather in the Great Hall on holidays and Assignments. When I reach the Great Hall with the rest of my sector, we all silently file into the line of blood and DNA testing. Once it's my turn, a man narrows his eyes on my face and pricks my thumb, he types on a computer,

"You have one filter attempt, Serenity Wick, so, you can only filter out one choice if you wish." A weight is lifted off my shoulders from the knowledge that I at least have one. His voice is tired and bores through my wall of nerves, he looks at me through his glasses and attaches a bright green wristband around my wrist. I quickly follow the other females into the great hall where there is music and warm lights. There is a smell of perfume and sweat in the air. I notice how nervous all the females are. There is a thin glass panel separating us from the other side so we can be observed. After about five minutes males start to fill into the other side, their eyes widen at the sight of us as they timidly approach the glass panel, and the females do the same.

I'm too late to find an empty spot against the glass, but if I stand on my tippy toes, I can see the faces of a couple of males. All of them have short brown or black hair and wide shoulders, bushy eyebrows, and deep voices, it's interesting to see someone so different. None of them can see me through the wall of the females in front of me, but as I scan more of their faces one of them catches my eye. He's a bit taller than the rest and has jet-black hair, but what catches my eye is the tattoo peeking from his shirt. His eyes find mine easily, I look away quickly. When I turn back around to find him again, he is suddenly gone.

The way the assigning works is when a male sees someone he is interested in, he registers to meet them; however many attempts he has is how many times he can register to meet a female. There is already a short line forming on the males' side and females are being pulled out. I look across the other side maybe five times now, but I can't find him, he is nowhere to be seen. I silently curse myself for being born a female. That's when I notice a small empty space in the glass, I quickly get off my tippy toes and launch myself at the space, but I barely squeeze through. Suddenly a wave of voices and faces meets me through the glass, I'm face to face with another male, he has dirty blonde hair and he smiles at me and winks. I can make out his muffled voice through the glass as he taps a friend's shoulder. All I do is observe them as they chatter and look back at me. One of them nods their head and then the blond one taps on the glass where my hand is, I can feel the tap vibrate through my hand, I look up at him and he suddenly jolts away with his friend trailing behind him.

They step into the now long line of males requesting females, it takes me a moment to realize what just happened, I hadn't even considered the fact that I would be chosen so fast. I couldn't even think properly.

I search the hall for the raven-haired boy one more time before I start to bite my nails, the blonde-haired boy and his friend get closer to the desk every second. I must walk away from the glass before I give myself a panic attack. Suddenly another officer comes to pull out the requested females, I hold my breath as she makes her way to me. She taps my shoulder indicating for me to move, I force my feet to follow her, but my head is racing with thoughts. She unlocks a wooden panel, and two other girls are giddy with excitement as they walk through the door, I follow them, and the officer slams the door shut making me jump. The room is lit with a chandelier and has mahogany wood coating the walls, the carpet is velvet red and leads to three doors, all with golden handles.

"You, on the far left." The officer taps my shoulder and points at the door, my heart plummets as I walk over to the door and twist the doorknob, the metal is cold against my sweaty hands. The first thing I see is the same boy from earlier, still smiling. In the good lighting, I can see he has grey eyes and the roots of his hair are turning brown, he wears a beige dress shirt that is rolled up on his forearms and black trousers, he is charming.

"Well, are you going to greet me," his voice is clearer and deep without the glass. He chuckles and smirks. I finally close the door and walk over to him, there are two chairs with velvet cushions and the interior is like the hallway.

"I'm Link, and you are?" he holds out his hand, I give him my hand as I reach him,

"I'm Serenity," I expect a handshake but instead he slowly brings my hand to his lips and kisses my knuckles. I've read about it being done in books, but I've never experienced the act. Surprising myself I giggle,

"Why have I never seen you before? You're the most beautiful girl in your sector." He says nonchalantly shaking his head, I feel my ears heat up as return my hands back behind my back.

"I'm not that social, I guess. I've never even seen a male my age-- before this" My voice echoes through the room, I clear my throat before taking a seat to ease the tension.

"What do you specialize in?" he asks before I can ask him a question,

"I've been working in the childcare unit since I was twelve, but I also loved to dance before they canceled it." They gave all the girls the option between childcare, medical care, and culinary now. There used to be multiple options that were not so mother-like. Dance was one of them, I had taken a special liking to it and excelled quickly, I was on point at a young age, but when I turned thirteen they completely canceled all forms of dance in order to focus more on raising good mothers instead of dancers.

Link opens his mouth to say something else, but I stop him,

"What do you specialize in? I'm not even sure what the males do all day." I ask eagerly, I've wanted to know. He lets out a breath and looks down at me, intrigued by my question.

"Well, we get up early to jog around camp, which is required for all of us, then we eat breakfast, after that we all train, mostly lifting weights, but if you're wondering what we do after that, I specialize in woodwork," a strand of blonde hair bobs over his forehead, it looks like he is recalling his memories from earlier that week. He seems completely uninterested, all of a sudden.

"Oh. I guess that makes sense." I feel my nerves coming back, he is closer to me now and I can smell him, I have to look up to see his face, I've never experienced anything like it.

"What are you thinking?" he tilts his head like he knows what I'm thinking.

"Just how weird it is to be so close to a male, I haven't done this in years, you're like a new species to me." He plops down in the chair as he listens to me. 

"I know, it's so strange, you are nothing like the people I have to deal with every day." He narrows his eyes at me and sets his chin on his hand.